2023-07-07 02:57:03
Saving the coral of Punaauia is the essence of the To’a Nu’uroa project. It is supported by two associations, Tamarii Pointe des Pêcheurs and Tamarii no te moana. Since January, they have been diving between the tip of the fishermen and that of Saint Etienne to carry out two types of action: coral cuttings and the collection of the algae Turbinaria ornata, responsible for the suffocation of the coral.
Polynésie la 1ère (MLSF), Kaline Liénard and Jérôme Lee • Posted on July 6, 2023 at 4:57 p.m.
The miconia of the seas is the nickname of this seaweed. Turbinaria ornata smothers corals. It takes up all the space on the potatoes and blocks photosynthesis, which is necessary for the survival of the coral. Today, too much swell near the reef so impossible to pick up these invasive algae.
“In the project, we study the effect of the uprooting of algae on coral and on coral restoration. Besides that, we deliver the algae to a laboratory, Pacific biotech, which studies the recovery of algae. For now, algae can be used in cosmetics, or even as an agricultural biostimulant. There are plenty of benefits that are yet to be explored.“, specifies Bastien Allegret, president association Tamarii no te moana.
While waiting for studies, place for action. For the cuttings of the coral, it’s like in the kitchen: we cut its ingredients. Here in pieces of 1cm2, then these microfragments are stuck on supports, commonly called, plugs.
the goal is to be able to transplant them to a place where we have torn out an invasive algae, so the Turbinaria ornata, to be able to help the coral to regain its place in the coral reef.
Jessica Tran, marine biologist
“Once that’s been glued, we’re going to suddenly go back to a nursery table, which we have directly in the lagoon and we’re actually going to place them. We will leave them for regarding a month directly on these nursery boards. And thanks to the numbering on these plates, we will be able to analyze the growth, of the microfragments that have grown.“, explains the president of the association. “And the goal is to be able to transplant them to a place where we have torn out an invasive algae, so the Turbinaria ornata, to be able to help the coral to regain its place in the coral reef.adds Jessica Tran, marine biologist.
To’a Nu’uroa is one of the four winners of a call for projects organized by the OFB, the French office for biodiversity. “We have invested, within the framework of this call for projects, approximately 500,000 euros in French Polynesia, on various research projects. So what is really interesting in this project is that it is a demonstrator project, a test project, a pilot project, which should be replicable later, if it proves conclusive. So it’s a bit of a bet, but we play the game, we finance it hoping that it works and that it can be replicated elsewhere everywhere in Polynesia.”, explains Erwann Moreau, project manager at the French Office for Biodiversity.
The To’a Nu’uroa project, started in January and is spread over two years for a total cost of 90,000 euros or approximately 10 million 800 Fcfp invested in the rescue of coral in Punaauia.
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